The present invention relates to the art of gabion retaining walls for earthen formations and, more particularly, is concerned with the formation of gabion baskets from welded wire panels.
Gabion retaining walls date back to the Roman Era. The word "gabion" is derived from the Latin cavea--a cage. When used for retaining walls, such cages are filled with rocks. The earliest gabions were woven from plant fiber and were not very durable. More recent gabions have been made of twisted wire screening. The most contemporary gabions are made of welded wire panels which are secured together to form the gabion basket. The present invention is concerned with constructions of the latter type and improved welded wire gridworks which may be used to provide the gabion panels and minimize the connections required between the panels. It is also concerned with an improved gabion wherein a welded wire soil reinforcing mat may be secured to the gabion basket to form one side of the basket.
A number of techniques are used in the prior art to secure welded wire panels together for the purpose of forming gabions. Some of these use "hog rings" which are generally only intended to temporarily secure the panels in place. Others use relatively flexible wire which is wrapped or tied around the wires at the edges of the panels to secure the panels together. One of the most recent techniques is to preform helical coils of relatively rigid wire and then thread or screw these coils around the wires at the intersecting edges of the panels to secure the panels together. Such wires may also be used to join the edges of adjacent gabions together. The prior art also teaches the use of welded wire trays to form soil reinforced earthen retaining walls. Such trays may be seen, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,686 by William K. Hilfiker, the inventor herein. In at least one embodiment, the welded wire wall of that patent includes angle shaped welded wire mats which are superimposed behind the welded wire trays to provide a barrier for containing the rocks and soil of the wall.